


Priestess of Light

by aj_linguistik



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Asuna, Blood, Demons, F/F, F/M, Fantasy AU, Gore, Paralysis, demon hunter AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2020-10-25 16:13:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20727059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: She's a single woman fighting to stave off the demon threat in Zakkaria. She's well-loved by the people, but she has a lot tying her down: heartbreak, regret, guilt, trauma. The last thing Asuna wants is to let things drag her down any further. Her goal is to move forward.A strange woman in armor visits her town one day, offering her freedom from what ties her down and the chance to escape her trauma by accompanying her on a quest. Will she accept the challenge to rise above her situation?





	1. Beautiful Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I wasn't going to add another fic like. AJ no. AJ why. BUT I had a really really fun idea while doing some quick brainstorming exercises to keep my brain awake earlier and I HAD TO. Note One: OH MY GOD AJ ISN'T FOCUSING ON KIRITO OR EUGEO? Yeah. I know. I'm shocked too. Note Two: Does there need to be a reason for sword wlw c'mon! 
> 
> Anyways! Tell me how mad you are in the comments- alsdkhgajja.

One of the most terrifying sounds in the world, people often said, was the sound of infernal demons screeching into the blackness of night. I would like to propose a much more terrifying sound, though. Screeching alerts you to where a demon is. It might be unpleasant, and it might signal awful things to come, but it isn’t as frightening as the sound of silence.

My head pressed against the left side of his chest. I could hear nothing inside of his ribs. There should have been a faint sound of beating. But there was no pulse. I lifted my head up, with tears streaming down my cheeks. I reached up and patted his cheek.

“Come on, Kirito,” I begged. “Don’t mess with me. Open your eyes.”

What pointless words. The demon who’d entered our house that night had taken its claws and ripped open his prone belly as he rushed to protect me. I picked up his limp body and cradled him to my chest, quietly sobbing. We’d only been married for a few years. It was just the two of us in that small house.

And now he was gone.

Someone burst through the front door. He held up a sword and looked around the wrecked house, probably looking for the demon. When he didn’t see it, he glanced down at us. I clutched Kirito’s body tightly to me, suddenly fearing that I’d been ripped away from it. The man sheathed his sword and knelt down, offering me a hand.

“I’m terribly sorry for your loss, Missus Asuna,” he said.

I knew this face. It belonged to a good friend of Kirito’s named Eugeo. His eyes seemed to be fighting a similar feeling of heartbreak to what I was experiencing. But he was here to make sure I was alright. I didn’t want to take his hand and flee, though. I wanted to stay right here.

“The demon won’t wait for you to mourn,” Eugeo said quietly. “We have to run.”

My hesitation made the situation worse. As he waited patiently for me to take his hand, the demon returned, swinging its claws at him viciously. Eugeo was flung to the side, his body slamming against a wall post with a sickening crack. The demon turned to me, growling through curved fangs. For a moment, I was frozen with fear.

Instinct took over. I reached down to the floor. Eugeo’s sword had fallen there. I picked it up and pointed it up at the demon. I held my stance over Kirito’s body and locked eyes with the monster. It shuddered as it glared down at me. With my face still wet from tears, I threw myself forward and planted the sword in the demon’s chest. It let out an unholy shriek and tried to pull away.

“Go back to hell!” I screamed.

I shoved the sword further into its chest. The beast reeled backward, grasping at the place to try and pull the sword out. Its skin burst into flames and it writhed unnaturally, its body twisting and turning like the branches of an old, gnarled tree. It fell to the ground, wriggled around for a moment, and then slowly went limp.

With the beast conquered, I felt no space to celebrate my first kill. I sank to my knees and wept.

That was five years ago.

* * *

_Present Day: Zakkaria_

The man leapt backwards as I slammed a knife into his sales table. I glared at him, unwilling to back down. He glanced over at the vendor beside him. The other man, a regular who’d been selling in this town for decades, just laughed.

“Better give her what she wants,” he said. “I’ve seen her remove a man’s toes.”

The vendor in front of me shuddered.

“Nonsense! She’d be arrested for that!” he said.

I sucked my teeth. The guy beside him shook his head.

“Don’t press your luck, new guy,” he said. “This town would turn on you in a heartbeat for reporting Miss Asuna. She’s our local hero. Now, give her the food. She’s got other things to do that aren’t bothering you for bread.”

The man grumbled and handed over the bread. I finally dumped the coins on the table. He’d tried to cheat me out of more gold than I had on my person, probably presuming I was a noble based on how I was dressed. But these finer clothes were a gift from the people of Zakkaria for keeping their city safe from demon attacks. I lived off of their goodwill in exchange for their safety. I snatched up the bread and gave the other vendor a polite smile.

“How’s your wife, Mister Mills?” I asked.

He smiled brightly at me.

“Doing quite well, thanks to you,” he said. “We’d love to have you over for dinner some time. Is Sunday after mass alright?”

I wanted to refuse, since it would mean extra mouths for them to feed, but he’d take it as an insult. I agreed to the time and said we’d be there. I gathered up my skirt and hurried off back to the little home I’d taken up residence in after mine had been destroyed five years prior. I swung open the door.

“I’m home!”

Little feet dashed down the hallway excitedly.

“Mama!”

The little girl flew into my arms. I scooped her up and spun her around. She giggled and hugged my neck. I kissed her on the cheek and headed into the back of the house. There were two beds set up, one with sheets disheveled and unmade, the other neatly tucked around a bedridden occupant. I set the bread down.

“Did you miss me while I was gone, Yui?” I asked.

She nodded. She looked back over at the sleeping figure in the bed, and then looked up at me. She giggled.

“What?” I asked.

“He snores sometimes.”

I laughed and set her down on the bed.

“It’s time to see if he wants something to eat, isn’t it?” I asked.

Yui nodded enthusiastically. I approached the other bed and frowned down at the person sleeping there. All of this time later, I still felt horrible. I blamed myself for his bedridden state. I sat down on the bed and gently shook his shoulder.

“Hey, Eugeo…” I said.

His eyes opened just a crack. He smiled at me.

“Do you want something to eat?” I asked.

He looked away, as if considering that for a moment. His eyes turned back to me and he gave a gentle nod. I grasped him by the shoulders and sat him up in an upright position. Yui came over and helped me to prop him up on a pillow. She kept him company while I fixed up something easy for him to eat. When I came back, Eugeo was laughing.

“I’m sure Miss Argo does know a lot of ways to play hide and seek,” he said. “But you’re becoming quite the expert! You’ll catch up to her in no time!”

I sat down and smiled at the both of them.

“What’s all this I’m missing?” I asked.

“Mister Eugeo said he used to be really good at playing hide and seek with my papa!” she said.

I tried not to let my face show any of the hurt behind that statement. Eugeo and I had very different ways of dealing with losing Kirito. He liked to tell Yui all about her father with a brilliant smile and sad eyes. I, on the other hand, thought that remembering would split my head open. By now, that pain was mostly gone.

“Forgive me,” Eugeo said. “I know you don’t like to talk about him.”

I shook my head.

“She has the right to know about her father,” I said. “Now, I didn’t ask before, but I made sure it was soft enough that it wouldn’t hurt too bad to chew. I hope that’s okay.”

Eugeo gave me a nod.

“What I can feel is a little sore today,” he said.

His nonchalance often unsettled me. The attack from the demon had left him unable to move little much other than his head. Sometimes I thought I could see him twitching a finger, but I figured it was only that—a thought. We’d tried so many different types of medicine. It felt pitiful, to watch him pleasantly accept his fate and be spoon fed by the person who wouldn’t flee with him. I hadn’t taken his hand, and now he was like this.

Forever.

As I sat there feeding him, I wanted to rid myself of that guilt. Clearly, he wanted me to do the same. He was always pleasant to me, never asking me to do anything for him. I’d expected him to hold the incident over me, but there was no evidence of that. He humbly accepted me as a benefactor when I offered it to him, and he had only offered a questionable option once.

That had been right after he’d found out about Yui.

“You can’t expect to just raise a child alone,” he said. “Asuna, I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, but kids are a lot of work.”

I paced in front of him. This was all a mess. My husband had died two months ago. I’d told everyone that I’d be fine alone, and that I’d work out what to do to help Eugeo in his severely injured state, but that was before I’d realized I was pregnant. I finally sat down beside him and held my head in my hands.

“I can’t marry you,” I said. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t feel anything for you.”

He huffed at me.

“I don’t feel anything for you, either,” he said, not trying to sound cold.

I grumbled.

“That almost makes your proposal worse,” I said. “You’re offering to marry me out of pity because I’m carrying his baby. Or worse—it’s as close as you’ll ever get to being Kirito’s lover now.”

My words were too harsh. He looked away from me. We were both bitter. We’d never gotten along, having fallen in love with the same man. So, when Kirito chose me, of course he’d started to grow distant. He was hurt. Now, Kirito was gone and all that was left of him was an unborn child and his distraught widow.

“If you married me, my family would be obligated to take care of your baby,” he said. “That’s all I mean.”

I smirked at him, despite the ugly feelings rearing up in my chest.

“They won’t even take care of their paralyzed son,” I said. “What makes you think they’ll take care of another man’s child?”

His eyes slipped shut. I leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“You don’t want to marry me,” I said. “And I would rather you not deal with that. I won’t abandon you _or_ this child. Even if I do fall for someone else and marry them one day, you have my word.”

He never made the offer again. 

Would things have been different, had she accepted? She doubted it. The only difference would have been a ring on her finger that existed simply to protect her from the harsh world of being a single woman, but here in Zakkaria, no one seemed to take an issue with that. Perhaps it was her protection that kept their mouths shut. None of the townsfolk asked about Yui’s father, nor did they ask why she cared for an unrelated paralyzed man.

“Can you feel this?”

Yui reached over and poked Eugeo’s right hand. He laughed and shook his head.

“Not at all,” he said.

I poked his face with the spoon.

“Alright, alright,” he said. “I don’t rush you when _you_ eat.”

I finished up giving him his meal and asked him if he wanted anything. He said it would be nice to go outside and watch the sunset. I ended up helping him out of the bed and taking him just outside of the town limits to sit with him and watch the sunset. Yui had fallen fast asleep in my bed, so I’d just locked up the door and sat outside with him.

At some point, he stopped watching the sunset and looked at me.

“You seem off today,” he said. “Is it because it’s the anniversary?”  
I gave him a curt nod. He sighed and turned back to the setting sun.

“I think Kirito would want you to move on,” he said quietly. “He’d want you to enjoy your life and not dwell on what happened. Because we can’t change what happened. We just have to keep moving forward.”

Suddenly, I was on my feet.

“As if you have any room to talk!” I shouted.

He frowned at me.

“You’re taken care of daily without a worry in the world, laughing like nothing ever happened,” I said. “You don’t go out and work for your food; I do. You didn’t have to bring a child into the world without her father. You didn’t ruin someone else’s life and then give up yours to make sure he didn’t die because he has no way to support himself and his family wouldn’t do it!”

Eugeo tensed up. The wind blew past us, lifting up our hair. I stole a glance at him. His cheeks glistened in the setting sun, wet with tears. Guilt filled my chest. I turned around to him. He gave me yet another inexplicable smile.

“You’re right,” he said. “It’s hard to be in your shoes.”

I thrust a fist at him, stopping short just before hitting his cheek. He looked up at me with pity in those deep emerald eyes. Pity. Pity for the woman who lost everything. She should be the one pitying him. To her surprise, Eugeo rested his cheek against her hand.

“I understand,” he said. “Not everything, but I understand.”

I dropped back down to my knees and rested my outstretched hand on his knee. I felt the warmth of skin touch the back of my hand. My head snapped up, staring at his hand shaking on top of mine.

“You…you moved…” I breathed.

When I looked up at him in shock, I realized he was just as shocked. His eyes were trained down on his hand. He squinted a little, as if concentrated, and let out a grunt. Slowly, but surely, he lifted his left hand. He stared at it incredulously.

“I felt…your warmth…” he said.

“How is this possible?” I breathed.

A thud sounded behind me. I jumped up and turned around, expecting a demon.

“I can tell you how.”

But this was no demon. This was a woman, a bit taller than me, with long, golden blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She was dressed in gold-plated armor that was complemented by blue and white clothing beneath it. Her hands rested on the hilt of a golden sword, intricately designed with the carvings of the Osmanthus flower.

“Who are you?” I asked. “Did you make his hand move?”

The woman lifted her chin slightly.

“I am Alice, the priestess of light,” she said. “And I can tell you why he is able to move his hand.”

I shared a look with Eugeo. He didn’t say anything. I glanced back over at her.

“Then tell us,” I said.

“I ask one thing in payment,” she said.

I tensed up.

“And what is that?”

She smiled.

“For the infamous demon-slayer of Zakkaria to join me on a quest.”


	2. The Exchange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I swear to god this isn't about Eugeo it's just buildup alsdkajsdgladh-

Sitting around the dinner table, four people were incredibly silent, and for different reasons. Eugeo was still in shock that he’d been able to move his hand. Yui shyly regarded the stranger in golden armor, with wide eyes that peeked around my sleeve. Alice, as she’d introduced herself, sat upright in the chair, grasping the hilt of her sword for her hands to lean on. And myself, I was staring at the shining stranger apprehensively.

Alice had requested to speak with us privately. I’d agreed, but only because I wanted to know if there was a way to further help Eugeo. This woman had just appeared and wanted to take me away from my daughter and these people who depended on me so much. But I didn’t want to deny help for Eugeo when it was my fault that he was harmed in the first place.

“Why is your condition that I join you on some quest?” I asked.

I locked eyes with Alice. Those deep, sea-blue irises were severe in ways that I felt I could understand. This woman had seen things. Probably something like what I’d seen years ago. Her request was more urgent than she was letting on.

“The demons murmur your name and fear that you’re the earthly embodiment of Stacia,” she said. “As her priestess, I know it’s not possible for you to be Stacia, but the fact that the demons cower at your name is enough for me. My mission is to snuff out the demon king to save humanity from his hordes. This struggle has gone on long enough. I’m sure you and your husband have experienced some strife; it is apparent from his condition he’s encountered a demon.”

Eugeo and I quickly glanced at each other and made a face.

“I’m not his wife!”

“I’m not her husband!”

Alice chuckled.

“Pardon me,” she said, seeming a bit less intense than before. “I saw a man, a woman, and a child and jumped to conclusions.”

I stiffened a little and stroked Yui’s hair.

“The same demon that killed her father gravely injured Eugeo when he tried to help me,” I said. “This arrangement started shortly after the demon injured him. I was pregnant with Yui, so I suppose it might have outwardly looked as if I started living with him and then had a child with him. But we’re certainly never been intimate.”

Yui curiously glanced over at Eugeo. I hoped I was being vague enough that the girl didn’t understand what we were discussing. I smiled down at her and held her against me. It wouldn’t offend me if Yui thought of Eugeo as a father, but I myself would never see it that way. Yui would always be Kirito’s daughter.

“I’m terribly sorry for your loss,” Alice said, inclining her head.

I noticed a slight hint of jealousy in Eugeo’s eyes. He knew that that statement wasn’t directed at him in the slightest. I chose to keep my mouth shut. There was no need to dig up Eugeo’s lingering sentiments for my dead husband in front of Yui or Alice.

“And that is why you must come with me, Asuna,” she continued. “The demon hordes continue to hurt humans because we do not fight back. As the high priestess of light, it is my mission to bring light to the people of this world. But I cannot do it alone. I need a companion to fight by my side.”

My chest tightened.

“Do you mean to say that you aren’t strong enough?” I asked.

She was dressed head to toe in armor that must weigh a lot. She had to be strong if she wore that sort of battle regalia. Did I want to believe this woman could take on her mission on her own? Of course, I did. I still didn’t want to leave Yui behind. She was all I had left of Kirito. Alice glanced down at Yui and then looked back up to me.

“Their numbers increase daily,” she said. “I want you to consider the fact that your daughter might suffer the same fate as her father if nothing is done. I am plenty strong on my own. I don’t doubt my own ability. I was trained by the priests and priestess whom I have been privileged to serve with. But that does not mean I do not need help. Two strong people together is better than one, don’t you think?”

I quickly stood up and placed my hands on the table.

“And what will you be giving Eugeo if I say yes?”

Alice pursed her lips for a moment.

“I can at most give him back the mobility of his arms,” she said. “He’ll never be able to walk again, but my solution can help him move his arms.”

I glanced over at Eugeo. If I had been him, I think I’d have been disappointed to hear that. But he seemed stuck, from his expression. He gazed down at his hands, neatly folded and unmoving in his lap, with a sense of longing. He glanced over at me and frowned.

“Asuna has a child to take care of,” he said. “As much as I would be overjoyed to be able to use my arms and alleviate her burdens, I think she’d be most unhappy leaving Yui to me.”

My eyes widened.

“I’m not Yui’s father and while I could find small jobs with the mobility of my arms returned, I think Asuna would prefer to take care of Yui herself…”

He kept his gaze downturned. Would he really rather accept his fate than admit that he desperately wanted the use of his arms again? I didn’t understand at all. He clearly wanted me to say yes. I guess if I really thought about it, he hadn’t been able to move anything but his head for six years. It was silly of me to presume without use of his legs he wouldn’t be happy.

“Don’t decide for yourself who I think is or isn’t a worthy caretaker of Yui,” I said.

Eugeo’s eyes widened.

“Alice, please give me time to think,” I said. “As he said, it’s not easy for me to choose to leave my daughter. I would never take her out to hunt demons with me; she’s far too young and I refuse to lose what’s left of my family.”

Alice nodded her head and stood up to give us both a bow.

“Three days,” she said. “I’m leaving Zakkaria after three days. My mission cannot wait longer than that. I’ll be lodging at a nearby inn. Have a good evening.”

She turned on her heels, causing her cape to fly up from the motion, and then she promptly left the house. Yui finally stopped clinging so tightly to my leg. I picked her up and clutched her tightly. She hugged me back.

“Mommy, are you going to help Mister Eugeo?” she asked.

I looked between her and Eugeo, who still had his eyes trained on his hands. I swallowed. Yui looked back over at him and frowned.

“How did Mister Eugeo get hurt?”

Finally, Eugeo lifted his head. He turned to me. His eyes were filled with worry. I bit my lip. Perhaps now was the time to tell Yui. I sat her down on the bed in the next room, and then I picked up Eugeo from his place and set him down in his. I sat at the foot of the bed and stared down at the floor.

“Mister Eugeo came to save Mama when the demons invaded our village and killed your papa,” I said. “But the demon hurt him very badly. It’s my fault.”

Eugeo’s eyes glistened in the candlelight.

“It’s not your fault, Asuna…” he murmured.

I shook my head.

“It is my fault…I should have taken your hand and run,” I said, my voice wavering. “Instead I refused to leave Kirito’s body and…”

And Eugeo paid for it. By being patient with someone he’d always viewed as a romantic rival for Kirito’s heart. The person we both loved had been lying dead in my arms, and yet he’d put aside his feelings to try and help me. My response had been to cave and fall victim to my own heartbreak, and this was the result.

I quickly put Yui to bed and pulled up the curtain between the two beds to block the light out from her side. I stepped over to his side and sat down next to him, staring into the burning flame. It wavered a little. I turned to look at him once again.

“I’ll go on that quest, Eugeo,” I said.

His expression tensed.

“I denied your act of kindness and you’ve had to be spoon-fed by me for six years,” I said. “You at least deserve the right to alleviate some of that burden.”

He went to protest, but I wrapped my arms around him and shook my head.

“It’s okay to want something, Eugeo,” I said softly.

He choked on a sob and quietly cried on my shoulder. I stroked his hair, like a mother comforting her son. How long had he smiled and pretended things were okay just for my sake? He’d treated himself as my burden for so long, refusing to place blame on me.

As I’d struggled to carry his body somewhere safe…

As I’d fought the humiliation and embarrassment of cleaning and feeding him like a child…

As I’d pushed through jealousy to care for Kirito’s best friend…

As I’d worked hard through pregnancy to feed both of us…

Not once had he raised his voice to blame me. Whatever pain or suffering he felt, it was quiet, and he bore through and moved past it all for my sake. It was time that I do something in return for him other than force myself to be his caretaker out of guilt.

“Just say it, Eugeo,” I whispered. “You’ll feel better if you do.”

As he quivered in my arms from his sobs, he took a deep breath.

“I…I want the use of my arms back…I want to help you…I want to stop being a burden…I…” he stammered.

I ran my fingers through his hair and nodded.

“Let it all out,” I said.

And he did. Six years’ worth of pain and bottled up sentiments flooded from his mouth all at once. He sobbed for so long that his voice started to get hoarse, and then he finally stopped trying to hold his head up and fell asleep on my shoulder. I gently laid him down on his pillow and gave him a nod.

“Thank you for being honest with me,” I whispered. “I promise you. I’ll go on this quest. I’ll get your arms back and I’ll avenge us both.”


	3. Traveling Companion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Let's get this ball roooooolling.

“So, you’re a priestess?”

Conversation had to start somewhere. I’d woken up the next day and readily agreed to Alice’s quest. For that, she taught Eugeo how to use sacred arts to restore the use of his arms. She apologized that this was all she could do, but he was extremely grateful and told her that all he’d wanted was the use of his arms. From there, I entrusted Yui to his care and promised them both I would return when the quest was over.

“Mama, are you going to make all of the demons go away?”

I smiled and clutched Yui to my chest. As soon as her face was out of sight, I felt myself start tearing up. I hugged her with all of my might. She held me tightly. I just nodded, fearing that if I opened my mouth, she’d hear how upset I was to be leaving her. I hadn’t left her side for more than a few hours since she was born.

“Mama?”

Her voice sounded meek. She was going to cry. Yui trembled in my arms. I couldn’t stop myself from sobbing if I stayed here too long.

“Yes, Yui?” I said, forcing the sob back deep into my chest.

“I…I don’t want you to go!” she cried.

I felt like my heart was going to break.

“I have to go, Yui,” I said, struggling at this point to maintain my motherly composure. “But I promise you I will return. I don’t know when. But I will return. And I refuse to break that promise to you.”

I gave my daughter one last squeeze and stood back up. I looked up at Eugeo and he gave me a smile.

“And I promise I’ll take good care of her until you return,” he said.

Smiling, I bent over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“I know you will, friend,” I said.

And with that, Alice and I turned and walked out of the city, neither of us knowing when or if we would come back. I pressed my hand to my heart. No, I was going to come back. I promised Yui. Even if it was just a bunch of words used to appease an upset child, they were meaningful to her. I couldn’t break that promise. I wouldn’t mess up and get myself killed by a demon. So, I traveled on with that in mind. It kept my spirits rather high.

The only problem was that Alice just didn’t seem to be much of an enjoyable traveling partner this far. She walked forward in grim silence, seriously going about her mission to defeat the demon king. I frowned at her. If she wanted a companion, the least she could do was acknowledge her. I felt like I was just an annoyance following behind her.

“Priestess of Stacia, I’m assuming,” I said.

Alice stopped in her tracks and, for the first time since our departure from Zakkaria, she looked at me.

“Do you often make such idle chat?” she asked.

I gave her an irritated glare.

“You asked for _me_ to come with you,” I said. “But you’ve been ignoring me for about an hour. Is it strange to you to want to talk with your traveling partner?”

Alice simply blinked at me.

“I am accustomed to walking in silence,” she said.

I groaned.

“Because you were by yourself,” I said.

I didn’t know that that was true, but it was a pretty good guess. Alice tilted her head for a moment and then frowned. Perhaps I’d hit the nail on the head. I sighed and resumed walking. There was no use in pressuring her to talk.

“Yes, I am a priestess of Stacia,” came the answer at last. “Specifically, I am the chosen Priestess of Light who was entrusted with the task of defeating the dark demon king, Vector. My quest was to find a traveling companion who embodies the spirit of Stacia and with them, defeat the demon king once and for all.”

She was just repeating what she’d already told me at this point.

“Now, it is my turn for a question,” Alice said.

I heard her start to follow behind me at a brisk pace.

“Your late husband, what was he like?” she asked.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at her.

“Why do you want to know that?” I said.

She looked confused.

“I was merely asking a question to continue your small talk,” she said. “I did not realize that asking a question would cause you to make such a face, Asuna.”

A part of me wanted to know what sort of face I was making. Another part did not. I’d told her that Yui’s father had died being attacked by a demon. Why did she think it was appropriate to talk about him? I gazed into her eyes and sighed. She wasn’t asking to pry. It was obvious from her expression that she just wanted to talk back.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just have tried not to think about Kirito since it happened. It was hard for me to look at Yui at first. She looks a lot like him. He never knew he was a father.”

Alice frowned.

“It must be sad,” she said.

I bit my lip.

“I miss him,” I admitted. “And I wish more than anything that Yui could meet her father. She’s never had a father…”

“And I presume there’s a reason you never married Eugeo, then,” Alice said, almost laughing.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes.

“He’s not into women,” I told her.

“Ahh, he’s like me,” she said. “I’m not into men.”

“But we did discuss it,” I said, almost laughing at the memory. “It’s funny. He couldn’t stand the thought of marrying me. He was in love with my husband. But his sense of compassion kicked in and he felt sorry for me, being a widow with child. I told him he didn’t have to marry a woman out of obligation. He couldn’t provide anything for me, anyways. I did all of the work feeding us, even while carrying Yui.”

Alice smiled at me.

“You’re quite the woman, Asuna,” she said. “You provide for two who cannot provide for themselves and you fight demons on your own. I don’t know that I could ever risk having a family as long as the demon king lives.”

I chose to give her a smile in return.

“Once we’ve defeated him, perhaps we can find you a nice girlfriend,” I said.

Alice laughed.

“You are too kind,” she said. “But first, we must focus on the mission.”

I hummed.

“So, where _are_ we headed to?” I asked.

Alice pointed a finger along the horizon.

“To my temple in Centoria, first,” she said. “We will need to speak to an oracle. She will be able to tell us how our journey will go. I never go on a quest without a divination. Perhaps as a priestess I am a bit superstitious.”

Laughing, I just nodded.

“If it makes you feel safer, then we’ll definitely do that,” I said. “I don’t believe in the gods, nor do I believe in divination, but I want you to be at your best when we head out.”

Because I wasn’t watching another person fall at the hands of a demon. I grasped the straps of my bag and nodded. Yes, this time was going to be different. I wouldn’t be left there, holding a corpse and sobbing. I wouldn’t hesitate so that someone was harmed in a way that was beyond all modern medicine. No, I was going to fight alongside her, and we would both come back with our bodies intact and our spirits high.


	4. The Oracle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hoo boy am I in an angsty mood.

The temple of Stacia in Centoria was in the center of the city. It was built of pristine white marble and appeared to be symmetrical from all sides. Alice told me that inside of the temple, in the deepest room, there was an oracle that she wished to have a divination from before we departed. She beckoned me up the steps of the temple, insisting that I had to accompany her to meet this oracle.

After passing through the entryway, I noticed that the inside of the temple was much different from the outside. It was filled with colorful glass that splayed rainbows of light into the space. Gold plating covered some of the pillars and windowsills. It was much more vibrant than its stark exterior. A man came around the corner and hurried over to grasp Alice’s hands.

“Oh, there you are!” he exclaimed. “We thought you’d gotten attacked on the road.”

Alice shook her head.

“No, but even if I had, my skill with the blade is good enough that I should be able to protect myself, Eldrie,” she said. “As you can see, I’ve returned to Centoria with the spirit of Stacia and wish to see the oracle before we depart to challenge Vector.”

The lavender-haired man turned to look at me. He reached out a hand to greet me. I took it and firmly shook it. He offered me a kind smile and lifted my hand up to his lips. I was alarmed by this gesture at first, but his embrace was gentle and perhaps only meant to be cordial. I couldn’t imagine anything but a greeting being meant by it.

“A pleasure to meet the one blessed by Stacia,” he said. “My name is Eldrie. I am one of the priests here at the temple. Would you like me to hold your things while you visit the oracle?”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, but I didn’t want to deny his hospitality. I slipped my bag off of my back and bowed my head in thanks. He took my things with a smile and wished us a pleasant meeting with the oracle. Alice guided me to a long, spiraling staircase that led underground. There were doorways every so many steps for a few minutes, but once the light of day started to be replaced by torches along the walls to combat the darkness, it was merely a set of stairs, sliding down into a yawning vertical tunnel.

The air started to get colder the more we walked. Alice was once again silent, but this time, I felt as if it would be a violation of some kind of holy rite to speak up as we descended. Our descent seemed to go on for ages. We finally stopped when the stairs ended on a flat floor that stretched out into a tunnel in front of us. It was there that Alice instructed me to remove my shoes. I slipped them both off and left them next to hers. She picked up a torch and began to walk down the tunnel. I hurried after her. Her pace seemed to have quickened.

The tunnel opened up into a cavernous room. It was dome-shaped and only lit by the torches around the outer exterior. Alice stepped to the center of the room and reached her torch down to the floor. She tilted the flames downwards as best as she could, and then they caught onto something liquid and flared up, racing in a circle around a dais on the middle of the room. On the dais, a girl was sitting very oddly with her back facing us. One leg was extended to her left, while the other was bent at the knee and held close to her body. Her hands were forward, flat on the dais in front of her.

Alice knelt down and waved for me to do so as well. I tucked my skirt under my knees and sat down beside her. The girl reached up one hand and ran it through her hair. In this lighting, her hair looked to be red.

“Asuna, this is the current oracle of Stacia, Lisbeth,” she said. “She will provide us with a divination for our journey to destroy the demon king, Vector.”

I blinked at the girl. She was still for a moment, but then she reached down into a bowl near her and grasped a handful of something that looked like a powder. She stretched her arm out over the flames surrounding her, and with a smooth spin, she whirled around, dropping the powder into the flames. The flames leapt up, startling me a bit, and danced with myriad colors before my eyes. A sweet scent filled the room. My head started to feel woozy.

“You bring a troubled woman to your quest, Priestess of Light.”

Lisbeth stood up from her position and swayed a bit. She drew in a deep breath and swiveled around to face us. Her body seemed limp and awkward, like a drunk walking through the streets. She thrust out her right hand to point at me. I thought my eyes deceived me, but it seemed as if a dark hand reached out to wrap itself around me. I yelped and closed my eyes for a moment. I felt my body go limp. I opened my eyes again.

“For you.”

I blinked my eyes and reached out to take the flower in my hands. The boy offering it to me smiled warmly, his dark eyes betraying how smitten he was with me. I felt a giggle bubble up in my throat.

“You’re so sweet, Kirito.”

As I took the flower, he did something unexpected. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against mine. I nearly dropped the flower in shock. He’d never done this before. Heat flushed into my cheeks. The sensation of his lips against mine was warm and pleasant. When he tried to pull away, I held the back of his neck and pulled him back in for a deeper kiss. It was our first kiss. And it wouldn’t be our last.

My eyes opened as I pulled away. There he was, dressed in traditional wedding attire, smiling at me with those kind eyes. He took my hands and squeezed them gently. He was eager for another kiss. I could tell. But he didn’t want to do it in front of all of our family members. He wanted to be alone. We wouldn’t get that for a while, but I understood the feeling perfectly. I turned a bit to face our captive audience.

“Shall we entertain them with a dance?” I asked.

He gave a slight nod. We stepped out onto the floor and slowly waltzed around for a moment. He pulled me in close and pressed his forehead against mine. I laughed with glee and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I love you,” he said.

We shared a gentle kiss. His kisses were always gentle. Without warning, he scooped me up in his arms and pulled me closer to him. I laughed and turned my head. We were looking at our new home, the place where we could live together in peace. He had insisted that he carry me through the door. I don’t know why, but I allowed it; simply because it was him, I suppose. We entered the house and looked around.

“What do you think?” he asked. “A nice place to raise a family?”

My face grew hot at the thought. I pressed my hand subconsciously to my belly. He didn’t seem to notice. He set me down and said he’d start to move our belongings into the house. We’d been living with his parents for a while, but we’d finally saved up enough to buy a house and live on our own. I touched one hand to the threshold to our new bedroom, keeping the other against my belly.

“Your papa found a lovely home for you to grow up in, little one,” I murmured.

I was startled by Kirito coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

“Who are you in here talking to?” he asked, playfully kissing my cheek.

I turned my head, smiling at him, and kissed him on the lips.

“Oh, just taking a look and mumbling to myself,” I said.

It wasn’t time to tell him just yet. I wanted to be absolutely certain that our baby was going to make it before he knew. I almost wanted to tell him now, though. I curled up against him, grateful to be falling asleep in our new home. At last, we could sleep in peace.

And then a screech rang out nearby. Kirito snapped to attention. He leapt out of the bed and told me to stay put. I stayed for only a moment. Something large sounded like it burst into the house, and Kirito gave out a cry of distress. I threw myself from the bed and ran into the other room to discover that the house had been torn apart. Flames ate up the broken edges of our home. Kirito was holding up a piece of metal, likely a spoke from the fireplace, and using it to brace against a monster.

The creature was enormous and had curved claws wrapped around the metal spoke. It had fangs dripping with fresh blood. Horns curled out of its skull and wings like a bat’s protruded from its back. Its feet were fashioned like two cloven hooves. It screeched and pushed down against Kirito’s brace.

“K-Kirito!”

He turned around to look at me and his expression was one of fear.

“Asuna! Run! You have to run and get help!”

I took a step closer to him.

“Asuna, there are demon slayers back in town!” he said. “I’ll hold him off for now, but you have to run! Get someone! People are already dead!”

My legs didn’t want to run. I couldn’t leave him here. What if something happened? I shook my head. Kirito winced. The demon looked over at me and let out an ear-splitting shriek. I covered my ears. It knocked Kirito over and flew at me. I gasped and wrapped my arms around my middle, as if that would stop the monster from harming our child. I braced myself for the impact of its claws but heard footsteps dash around the demon.

“ASUNA!”

I opened my eyes just in time to see Kirito throw himself between me and the demon, completely prone. Its outstretched claws bore down on him, catching him in the stomach and tearing his belly open. Kirito gave a final cry and drove the spoke in his hand into one of the demon’s eyes. It screeched and dashed away. Kirito let his body fall limp to the floor. I dropped down beside him and picked him up.

“Kirito! Kirito, speak to me!”

His organs were spilled out onto the floor. His eyes were shut. I pulled him up to my chest and clung to him, letting out a sob. He lifted up his hand and stroked my hair.

“Asuna…why don’t you come save me?”

My eyes widened. This wasn’t how the memory went. I pulled away from him. Still with his belly slit open, he smiled at me. Blood seeped out of the corners of his mouth and eyes. His hand gripped my head, digging his fingernails into my skull. He opened his mouth, revealing a set of jagged teeth. He thrust one hand into my chest and wrapped his fingers around my heart. When I screamed, he laughed.

“You’ll have hell to pay if you confront me, Asuna.”

I yanked myself backwards away from the twisted vision of my dead husband and ran into a body. I jumped a looked up over my shoulder. Alice frowned down at me, her expression for once filled with an emotion that was understandable: worry. I could feel myself shaking. I glanced over at Lisbeth. She was lying on the dais panting.

“Are you going to be alright?” Alice asked.

She reached her hand up and gently stroked my hair. It was the mot human thing she’d done since I’d met her. In the heat of the moment, I turned around and grasped her tightly, embracing her for comfort. Had she seen the same images as me?

“Why? Why did it appear as his face?” I asked, my voice wavering.

Alice continued to stroke my hair as she held me.

“I think this is a bad omen,” she said. “Vector does not want us to confront him. So, he is using the oracle to scare us by taking the face of your former lover.”

A grunt came from behind me. I turned my head to see Lisbeth sitting back up. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. The possession must have taken a lot out of her. She looked over at us and pointed a finger in our direction.

“The goddess has not blessed your mission,” she said, her tone warning us. “The unbeliever holds too much hatred for the demons in her heart to accompany the Priestess of Light.”

I straightened up.

“I’m only here to avenge Kirito,” I said.

Lisbeth’s eyes narrowed.

“And your desire for vengeance will be your cause of death.”


	5. The Priestess' Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Quarantining myself to keep my dad safe, nothing to DO because two weeks of break...this is my FOURTH post of the day. I'm seeing all the stuff I have not touched since 2019 and I am like OOF I was so busy I am SO sorry please have more fic.

Candlelight flickered on the nightstand. After seeing the terrifying images at the oracle’s site, I’d remained in a special quarter for guests as the shrine of Stacia practically all day. A few priestesses had come and dropped off food for me, but I hadn’t touched it. The image of Kirito’s face on a demon was branded into the forefront of my mind, haunting my waking thoughts. Oh, how I wanted to forget it.

I’d prided myself on moving on and making a life for myself. Reflection on my life up until now had only revealed one truth, however: I wasn’t living for myself or even for Yui or Eugeo. I was living on as an excuse to kill demons. Killing them made me feel like I was making up for letting Kirito die. I’d even blatantly admitted it for the first time to the oracle.

_ I’m only here to avenge Kirito._

Some hero of the people I had proven to be. My selfish desire to destroy every one of those monsters wasn’t for anyone but myself. A bitter taste filled my mouth. What would Kirito think of the current me? I’d agreed to a quest for Eugeo’s sake, but was that all there was to it? I’d surprised myself with such a curt, quick reply to the oracle. The woman who’d taken on the quest alongside the Priestess of Light was hellbent on revenge.

“I’ve moved on…” I muttered. “I’ve moved on!”

Trying to hide my own tears from myself, I buried my face in my hands and shook my head. I didn’t believe in gods or fate or anything of the sort. The oracle’s works were likely some kind of hallucinogen created in the chamber. There was no goddess blessing this quest. It was just the desire of a few good-willed people wanting to save humanity from hell-beasts.

Alice would likely have some grand answer that since demons existed, so, too, did the gods. I didn’t want to have that discussion. I had to reflect on my own reasoning and logic about this. Was there really some deity pulling all of these strings? Who knows. All I knew was that I wouldn’t rest peacefully until I knew all of the demons were eradicated. If that meant helping this religious woman with her so-called quest from the goddess, then I would do precisely that.

A knock sounded on the door. I lifted my head up out of my hands and glared over at the door. This time, instead of an unfamiliar face, Alice entered the room. She wasn’t the comforting person I longed for—he was long dead, after all—but she was far better than the mumbling priestesses that had dropped off my breakfast and lunch meals. Alice did have a tray in her hand. It was likely a dinner. She glanced over at the untouched meals and frowned.

“You need to keep your strength up,” she said. “I know the visions from the oracle were frightening, but at some point, you must understand they were in your head.”

I gave her a funny look.

“Did you see the same thing I did?” I asked.

Alice shook her head.

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you saw,” she said. “All I know is that you mentioned your husband’s name. And you were shaking.”

I frowned at her.

“What did you see, then?” I asked her.

Alice stared down at her lap.

“A field of white flowers,” she said softly. “Slowly, one by one, they turned red. It seemed to be symbolic for a moment, but when I looked closer, I noticed that they were all dripping with blood. I turned my eyes to the sky and saw that it was raining. I looked down at myself again as I felt warm droplets hitting my skin and clothing. More blood.”

My stomach turned in my gut. For someone that made a living off of killing demons, this image was still upsetting and revolting. I shook my head. We’d both seen visions of beautiful things turned awful. It was a strange coincidence. Alice reached over and pushed some of my hair behind my ear. She sat the tray of food down in front of me.

“Will you tell me about him?” she asked.

I locked eyes with her.

“You already asked that,” I said.

She smiled.

“Yes, but you never really told me,” she said. “We somehow went from me asking about him to you discussing why you hadn’t married Eugeo.”

I laughed. She was right. I’d diverted the conversation. I’d also told her that I didn’t want to think about Kirito, since he was gone forever. But perhaps this vision was why she’d asked. She thought that I should let out all of the pent-up feelings and thoughts about him. I gave in and gave her a nod.

“Kirito was the first man I’d ever met who saw me as an equal,” I said, staring at a point in the wall. “He included me in all of his conversations with other men and even would allow me to help him with jobs that were considered manly. Well, he’d even help me with so-called women’s chores. It made him happy just to be able to spend time with me.”

Alice relaxed a bit.

“He sounds like a lovely individual,” she said.

I chuckled.

“I’m not so sure you would have gotten along,” I said. “Kirito was still pretty headstrong and wasn’t inclined to follow the rules if they didn’t make sense or didn’t line up with his morals. Had you invited _him_ on a quest, then he might have said to just skip the oracle and get straight to fighting demons.”

When I looked up, Alice seemed a bit flustered just thinking about skipping steps.

“No…no! One _must_ go and see the oracle first!” she said. “Would he have skipped training with the priests and priestesses of Stacia as well?”

I nodded.

“Very likely,” I said. “He tried to fight a demon with a spoke in his last moments. He’d barely swung a sword around before. He was just a farmer’s kid.”

Alice shook her head.

“Such impulsivity,” she said. “You are correct. I would have found him most troubling.”

Her prickliness towards a man she’d never met made me giggle a bit. I mentally imagined her and Kirito in the same room, bickering about something simple. Tears welled up in my eyes. I hurriedly brushed them away, hoping that Alice hadn’t seen them. I smoothed down my skirt over my knees and shook my head.

“Despite it all he was gentle and romantic in the sweetest of ways,” I said. “I always felt so special to him. He made me feel special every day. From the moment we’d met until the day he jumped between myself and a demon, he always put me first in his heart. I’d been wanting to tell him he was going to be a father. I never got the chance to tell him about Yui.”

Alice placed one hand on my shoulder.

“I’m sure he’s watching you both now, proud of his wife and daughter and how far they’ve come without him,” she said.

It was a kind sentiment, but I didn’t believe in an afterlife like she did.

“Is it right to kill demons just to avenge him?” I asked her.

She stiffened up.

“I think I told myself that this was all for Eugeo,” I said. “I wanted you to help him out so that he wouldn’t feel like a burden to me, but after seeing that vision…I know I’m being selfish. Your offer would mean peace for my past.”

Alice’s shoulders drooped. She seemed to be considering my words. Revenge didn’t sound like something religious people would be happy about, but what did I know about religion? I’d barely engaged in it even before my husband had been cruelly taken from me. After Kirito’s death, I’d given up what little connection I’d had to it. I didn’t need her approval as a religious woman, though—I wanted her approval as a traveling companion.

I watched her as she thought. The way she shifted her body, trying to remain regal and composed while she dealt with an answer that seemed difficult for her to give. Her deep blue eyes met mine for a moment. Her cheeks tinged with rouge for a moment. She looked away. She folded her hands in her lap and shut her eyes. Alice held her head high.

“I think your loyalty to your deceased lover is quite touching and loyal,” she said. “I personally do not believe in revenge taken by human beings. Vengeance is for the gods. But I understand your sentiment. To me, I think this mission should be accomplished for a sense of justice to humanity. Your motivations, however, do not matter to me. So long as we are in agreement that the demon king must be slain.”

I nodded my head.

“Right,” I said.

Alice pushed the tray closer to me.

“Please, eat something,” she said. “It is what Kirito would want.”

She then gathered up her skirt, got to her feet, and then silently left the room without another word. I watched her disappear into the hallway without shutting the door. I slipped off of the bed and hurried over to shut it. I caught a glimpse of her figure doubling over. For a moment, I thought I should hurry to her, but I saw her lean against the wall and press her hand to her chest. She let out a long, distressed cry.

“Lady Stacia…there is so much pain in her heart,” she mumbled. “Such a beautiful woman, tainted by her sorrow-filled heart. I would do anything to put that heart at ease, but she resists so…”

I swallowed and quickly shut the door before Alice realized that I’d overheard her. I pressed my hand to my mouth and felt the tears threatening to spill over my eyelids once more. Why did she feel this need to help me? This was all based on some supposed prophecy that told her I was the earthly embodiment of her goddess, right? She had no other connections to me that I knew of.

So, why, then, was she crying so earnestly over me?


	6. Meaningless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: After much fighting with myself...I have a chapter. Be prepared to want to smack me.

Despite the omens we’d received for our quest, Alice insisted that we continue with the mission. The Oracle’s words of warning didn’t seem to scare her; I began to wonder if anything did. A woman of faith such as herself didn’t seem the type to shirk omens or bad portents, yet she dragged me into the temple’s arena to stand before the high priestess and determine my skills with a blade. The temple of Stacia still wanted to sum me up, as there were murmurings that the Priestess of Light had chosen the wrong Vessel of Stacia.

They would either allow me to fight along Alice or I would be free to go. I could only hope that either way, Alice wouldn’t remove her blessing to Eugeo if the high priestess found me in ill favor. The Oracle’s words, too, worried me. If she had a say in all of this, I could be sent home based on the portents alone. A small part of me did want to return home; Alice was a difficult companion sometimes and I had my daughter and friend to take care of back in Zakkaria. But I still wanted to go on this quest.

_I want to avenge Kirito._

A most unholy mission, carried out by an enraged lover. It was blasphemy, and I was sure of it. My only hope was that my hosts didn’t think the same way. As I followed Alice into the arena, I skimmed the room. Several priests and priestesses were sitting up on amphitheater-style seats. A few were clustered together in different spots, murmuring amongst one another as I entered. I overheard mentions of the Oracle’s verdict that our quest was met with ill favor. Uneasy eyes followed me as I took center stage behind Alice. She straightened up, squaring her shoulders, and slammed the sheath of her sword into the ground before her to address the high priestess.

“Lady Quinella, high priestess of the temple of Stacia, holy pontifex of our blessed human empire!” she cried. “I bring to you the woman chosen by the goddess to be her vessel on this earth! Asuna of Zakkaria!”

Up high above the amphitheater, a woman with long, almost lavender hair and mirrorlike eyes stood up. Her body was adorned with light silk so thin that I thought it might be a bit transparent, revealing the faint outlines of her ornate robe beneath it. This thin over-garment must have identified her as the high priestess, separating her from the simpler robes of the priests and priestesses below. She glared down at the two of us. Alice knelt down beside me, keeping her hands on the hilt of her sword.

“So, you’ve come to prove your worth in combat against the Demon King, miss Asuna?” she asked.

Her voice was soft and gentle, yet at the same time felt as prickly as frost in the morning. I shivered.

“I’m widowed, actually,” I said, clarifying the title she’d picked for me.

The high priestess’ eyes narrowed a bit.

“Alice, Priestess of Light,” she said. “I was unaware that the vessel you brought before me was no longer a virgin.”

A strange, uncomfortable tension filled the space. Alice, obviously, had known that I wasn’t a virgin. And she’d clearly also known that the high priestess would not approve of a woman who’d slept with a man before. I glanced down at Alice, wondering what the meaning for this defiance was. It struck me as out of character for her, but her brow was knit in frustration. She slowly rose to her feet again.

“This is the vessel that Stacia has chosen,” Alice said firmly. “The goddess led me to her. She is blessed with great skill with a blade. The goddess appears to hold no issue with Asuna having slept with her husband prior to this quest. It appears she finds favor with her fighting spirit. I do not question the choice of Lady Stacia.”

Her voice was certain. So certain that I thought I saw the high priestess flinch, finding herself unable to disprove a statement like this when uttered by the mouth of her chosen Priestess of Light. For a moment, she reminded me of my mother. The way she looked down on me, disapproving, when I’d thrown away my status to marry Kirito.

“You’ll amount to nothing,” she’d said.

Perhaps that might have been true before Kirito died. But his death had unintentionally brought me fame as a demon slayer. My family might have cut me off, but I didn’t need their help. I had almost considered running back to my mother back then. I’d discussed it with Eugeo after refusing his marriage proposal. He’d pointed out that my parents likely wouldn’t support Kirito’s offspring anymore than his would. So, I’d learned to fend for myself.

I reached down and gripped the sword at my side. I hadn’t used Eugeo’s sword since that day; I’d instead gone and procured a weapon of my own. It was an elegant rapier, something much lighter than Eugeo’s heavy, ornate sword. I grasped the hilt and pulled it out, pointing it up at the high priestess as if to challenge her.

“I am fully capable of fighting one-on-one with the Demon King!” I proclaimed. “If you deem me unworthy, nothing will stop me from running my own quest to remove his head.”

The priests and priestesses started to murmur worriedly. I began to think that I’d spoken well out of turn, but when the high priestess held up her arm, the murmuring came to a sudden stop. She glared down at me with an expression that issued a challenge.

“Very well then,” she said. “Alice, remove yourself from the arena.”

Alice frowned at me, clearly worried, and then bowed respectfully before hurrying out of the area.

“Keep your sword drawn, demon slayer,” Quinella said. “Prove your worth in battle to me, and I’ll make an exception.”

I heard something behind me rumble. I turned around on my feet, realizing what was about to happen. In order to prove my worth, I’d need to fight off a demon. I should have seen that one coming. I gripped the hilt of my rapier as the gates at the back end of the arena burst open, revealing a demon that was perhaps three heads taller than myself. Horns curled out of its head, twisting around its pointed ears. Its long, sharp nails resembled claws and appeared to be dripping with blood. Its tail swished behind it like a horse maddened by a fly. Digging its hooves into the ground, it lunged for me, letting out a shriek and baring its fangs.

“Vile creature,” I said, taking my stance.

Clenching my teeth, I readied my sword. It rushed at me, closing the distance between us in mere seconds. Any normal human would have been unable to counter that speed, but as someone well-practiced in fighting demons, I’d practiced building my own monster-like speed. I flicked my sword upwards to catch the claws of the beast as the bore down on me. In its frustration, it let out another unholy scream. The blood on its fingers was clearly running down its wrists from bindings that had kept it in the temple for such an occasion.

Its eyes glinted hatefully at me as I held its limbs back. I let go of the hilt with one hand and reached down to my waist to grab a second sword. I whipped it out, thrusting upwards with lightning-quick reflexes. The tip of the sword sliced cleanly into the demon’s chest. I knit my brow. This was too easy. I prepared myself to switch arms and give it another thrust to push it back. I’d finish it off with a flurry of quick jabs.

But the creature surprised me. Instead of expecting it not to respond when I went to switch hands, it would up throwing _me_ backwards. I fell onto the ground, feeling the impact of the sand on my back. The air left my lungs. The demon scrambled over me, raised its arms, and then threw them downwards. I crossed the swords over my body and blocked its talons before they reached my flesh. It leaned forward, laughing.

“Not quite…so pitiful…as the day…I killed…your beloved…” it said, gasping as if out of breath.

My heart leapt into my throat.

“I-Impossible!” I shouted. “I killed the demon who took Kirito’s life!”

The demon did nothing aside from laugh. It pushed down onto the swords. I felt my wrists scream in protest. My concentration was wavering. I’d killed the demon that day. I knew I had. It crumbled the say way any other demon did when I killed it. The swords shook in my hands. I looked at the one in my left and felt a sob catch in my throat.

_“I call it ‘Elucidator,’ Asuna. Because it becomes clear to me that our fate isn’t determined by where we were born in this world. It’s what we want it to be.”_

Hot tears spilled onto my cheeks. I hadn’t come all of this way to be taunted by a creature with no morals. It chuckled at me, seeing that I felt cornered.

“You have…so much…to learn…human girl…” it droned. “You’ve killed…nothing…you’ve done…nothing…”

I shook my head.

“Begone!” I screamed.

I thrust my swords forward. Something rushed through my being. White light burst from the blades, wrapping the demon in something like sunlight. Its cries sounded painful as it reeled back and clawed at itself. Its body went up in blue flames, and it began to turn into ash. I watched it with morbid fascination. This had never happened before. As its mouth disappeared, its screams came to an end, leaving us in a silent arena. I sat up and turned to the high priestess.

“What…what was that?” I stammered.

No one responded. I got up to my feet and pointed my rapier at the spot where the demon had stood.

“What’s going on?!” I demanded.

The high priestess stared down at me, horrified, and shook her head.

“Remove this woman from the temple of Stacia.”

I felt the energy draining from my body. I fell to my knees and stared numbly down into the dirt. Only when two priests came and grabbed me by the arms to drag me away did I suddenly find the energy left to protest.

“I don’t understand!” I screamed. “Explain! What happened back there! Let me go!”

But my cries fell on deaf ears, it seemed. I was thrown out into the streets with my bags, and the doors of the grand temple of Stacia slammed shut before me.


	7. Ask Not of the Rat (For You May Fear What You Hear)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I started this before I emptied my home and moved to another, and after much irritation and frustration, it dawned on me what I must do. orz I am ever so sorry for pulling this. But after a quick run by a friend...oh yeah. I had to go there.

A couple of things tossed around unpleasantly in my soul. The first was the clear rejection of the high priestess, who’d tossed me out onto the streets without allowing me a chance to see Alice. The other was the words of the demon I’d fought. He’d taunted me with such heavy words. His claim was that he’d killed Kirito; that I’d never killed a single demon before. I grasped the handle of my bag and dragged my weary feet over to a pub. At least while I thought, I should get something to eat.

I ordered a meal and sat down, grateful for the bustling noise around me. Even though I was alone, it felt good to be around people like this. I thanked the waitress when she brought my meal and then started to slowly eat it. My stomach protested. It didn’t want to accept nourishment while my head was spinning. I did my best to swallow every bite I put in my mouth. It would be pathetic to throw up here.

Could I trust a demon to speak truth to me? Everything in me said no. Demons were creatures of deceit and destruction—they lied, killed, and stole from humans without any ounce of remorse. The only reason I doubted that it was a lie was because of that blinding flash of light. Something had come from within me and turned the monster into a pile of ash. I’d never seen a demon vanish in that way.

_“You have…so much…to learn…human girl…you’ve killed…nothing…you’ve done…nothing…”_

I shuddered as those words reverberated in my skull.

“Kirito…” I mumbled. “I wish you could just tell me…tell me if I’ve avenged you or not…”

Leaning forward, I rested my forehead against my wrists and offered up a silent prayer to the goddess that Alice claimed had chosen me. I wasn’t a religious woman, but if a prayer would help, then I’d send one and hope for clarification. I drew in a deep breath and concentrated on thinking out my pleas clearly.

They were interrupted when someone roughly sat down on the other side of the table. My head snapped up to glare at the intruder. They were wearing a cloak that hid most of their features, save for whiskers that were drawn on their cheeks with cosmetics. One hand rested on the table, its fingers tapping out a tune I couldn’t place. The other held the newcomer’s chin, propping up a smug grin that was clearly directed at me.

“You seem a bit conflicted,” they said. “Why don’t you let big sis help you out, for a price?”

The smug grin turned into a toothy smile. I huffed.

“I’m not interested in paying for unusual services,” I said. “Especially not from a woman who hides her face from me.”

She leaned back a little and sucked her teeth.

“Ahh, don’t be like that, Aa-chan,” she said, giving me a nickname before I’d even presented her with a name. “You want to know something. Otherwise ya wouldn’t be prayin’ so earnestly to a goddess you don’t even think exists.”

I frowned over at her.

“Do I know you?” I asked. “Are you, perhaps, from Zakkaria?”

Chuckling, she waved her hand.

“I’m sure you don’t know me,” she said. “But you might have heard of me, Aa-chan. And I’ve certainly heard of you. The infamous woman who tears through the wild area around Zakkaria, tearing demons limb from limb with her trusty rapier, Lambent Light, and the sword of her deceased husband, Elucidator.”

I swallowed.

“How do you know all of this?” I asked,

Her statements were a little too detailed for them to be hearsay. She just kept grinning, as if this wasn’t unsettling at all. Her fingers started tapping again. She sighed and leaned back on her palm.

“I know lots of things, if you’re willing to pay for the information,” she said.

I squinted.

“An information broker,” I mumbled. “So, that’s how you know about me.”

The woman chuckled.

“I know more than what I listed about you,” she said. “That you’re a single mother. That you’re from noble blood. That you’ve been proposed to out of pity by that poor boy who’s had a bit of a miraculous recovery of his upper body movement.”

I stood up quickly, slamming my hands down on the table on either side of my plate.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, keeping my voice as calm as I could.

She shifted her weight and then rested her head in the opposite palm.

“Your business, nothing more, nothing less,” she said coolly. “They call me Argo the Rat. I’m an information broker, as you said. For a pretty penny, I can tell you anything you want to know. About anything. Be it human matters or…other.”

Everything in me told me to walk away from this. I had to keep a cool head about me and be reasonable. But the thought that she might have answers to the puzzling questions that weighed down on my heart drove me forward. I touched a hand to my coin purse. I glanced over at her and frowned.

“I have two questions, but I’d like to have a quote,” I said. “I’m not made of money.”

She nodded.

“Ask away,” she said, almost laughing as her grin widened. “Let this old rat haggle with you a bit, Aa-chan.”

I swallowed.

“The first is can demons be killed with a sword,” I said.

I had to pick my questions carefully. If I asked too much, she might ask for quite a bit of money. The more information that could be gleaned from a question meant the potential to goad me to ask more, leading to more of my money in her hands. She held up two fingers. It was a fair enough price. I set the money down on the table and slid it over to her. She pocketed it so quickly it felt like a flash.

“The simple answer is no,” she said. “You need some kind of holy tool to kill them off. That tip’s on the house, you know. What’s your second question?”

My hands curled up into fists. This question didn’t have to do with demon-killing but rather a premonition induced by the Oracle. If she asked for too much or didn’t know, it was fine with me. I drew in a deep breath and made sure to keep my expression calm.

“Kirito,” I said.

Her hood lifted up and I finally caught a glimpse of her eyes. Contrary to the grin I’d just seen, her face was filled with surprise.

“Is Kirito…still…”

I couldn’t get the question out. Asking it out loud felt like an insult to the death I’d witnessed. But Argo’s shock was quickly displaced by a laughing grin, as if her surprise at the question was already gone. She held up four fingers this time. I glanced into my purse. I could do it. I pulled out the coins and placed them on the table.

_Wait, why so much more? _

Argo already had her hands over the coins.

“My, my, what a dangerous question to ask, Aa-chan,” she said, her voice dripping with parts teasing and parts seriousness. “Whatever made you think Kii-boy’s still alive?”

I felt my shoulders trembling.

“A…a premonition,” I stammered. “But his heart stopped. I was there. I held him as he died. It can’t be true…can it?”

There was a scary look on her face beneath the hood. She pulled it back over her eyes.

“There are some question that just shouldn’t be asked, Aa-chan,” she said. “But you’ve paid the price, and I’ve promised you an answer.”

She played with the coins in her hand.

“Kirito did die that day,” she said.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“Don’t be so quick to relax, Aa-chan,” she said. “I never said he was still dead.”

The answer felt like a hammer was being driven into my chest. I dropped back down into the seat. She was lying. She had to be. I could feel my whole body shaking. Kirito? Alive? It couldn’t be right. If he was, he’d have come to find me. He loved me, didn’t he?

“How? Why? I don’t understand!” I exclaimed.

Argo shook a finger at me.

“You’ll have to pay quite a bit to know more about _that_,” she said.

I swallowed.

“I don’t…I don’t have more I’m willing to part with,” I stammered.

She pointed at the black sword sheathed beside me. I shook my head.

“No, please…” I said. “I can’t possibly trade it for information. It’s the only thing I have left of my husband.”

Argo’s grin widened.

“But you’re so, so, curious, aren’t you, Aa-chan?” she teased.

I could feel the sweat beading on my forehead. I stared down at Elucidator. It had been a faithful companion since Kirito’s death. I’d had to adjust to its weight. Frankly, it wasn’t smart to swing it with Lambent Light in the other hand, but I couldn’t bring myself to replace my own cherished sword with a heavier one like Eugeo’s. How badly did I want this information? My hand hovered over Elucidator, begging me to hand it over and know where Kirito was. Just as I went to close my fingers around it, a hand grasped my arm to stop them.

“We’re not interested. I’m taking this woman with me on a quest to get the answers she so desires.”

Looking up over my shoulder, I felt a strange feeling of relief wash over me as I gazed upon Alice’s stern face. She turned her face down to me. That expression transformed into a soft smile. She gathered me up and led me out of the restaurant, thanking Argo for her services but kindly refusing any more. As soon as we were far enough away, she sat me down on a bench and sighed.

“I was afraid that you’d leave after they tossed you so cruelly from the temple,” she said.

She knelt down before me, took my hands in hers, and she smiled up at me.

“Asuna,” she said. “Please, accompany me on my quest.”

I frowned.

“But the Oracle…and the high priestess…”

Alice shook her head. Her golden locks sparkled in the sunlight as they shook.

“Stacia has blessed you,” she said. “The others are blind to it, but that light that came from within you earlier…that is proof enough for me. Stacia has blessed our quest. I will take no other companion as I journey to destroy the Demon King.”

Her hand squeezed mine gently.

“So, I ask of you once more,” she said. “Will you accompany me? Without good portents? Without the blessing of Quinella?”

I squeezed her hand back.

“Yes,” I said. “I think I shall.”


	8. Neither Dead Nor Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Puts in something for filler while I think hnnnnnnng-

The Demon King.

Very few called him by his actual name, so many referred to him as such. Humans often referred to him as the Dark God Vector, the Angel of Death, or other such grand titles, but in truth, he had a simple name, just as any other demon or god in this world did, and that name was Gabriel. His life goal, some said, was to spirit away the dead, but this was only a nice way of describing what he did to the poor humans he crossed.

He ate their souls.

But on very rare occasions, he reused souls that he thought could be useful to him. He would capture the souls brought back to him by his underlings, and he would separate them into those which would be consumed versus those which would be reused. One such soul came to him from a young peasant boy who thought himself rather bold with a sword in life. His soul was valuable to him because it would attract the vessel of Stacia to him.

And oh, how he wanted to taste the soul of someone touched by the goddess herself.

“I’m damn tired of sending up grunts to have them sent back here whining about the pain.”

Gabriel turned his head to see his second in command, Vassago, approaching him. He was rotating his shoulders in their sockets, working out some ache he likely received when a human banished him back to this realm. Gabriel frowned over at him and stepped down from his throne to speak with the man.

“And what killed you this time, Vassago?” he sighed.

Vassago cackled.

“Your prized soul,” he said. “As painful as it was being captured by those temple freaks, she really did a number on the demon in the ring. The blast from her power wiped me out in seconds. I was lucky enough that I wasn’t close enough to feel the holy power, otherwise my ass wouldn’t be back down here.”

Sighing, Gabriel shook his head.

“So, she’s testing her power with the Temple of Stacia, then?” he hummed.

Vassago nodded.

“That’s right,” he said. “She’s damn mad I killed her husband.”

Gabriel shot him a look, and then he stepped down across from the throne towards the opposite side of the room. Chained up to a chair near the door, there was a single man, resurrected from the dead against his will, with his head hung low. Gabriel knelt down and smirked at the man. Vassago walked up beside him and slammed the tip of his boot into the man’s shin. He didn’t respond.

“Do you hear that, Kirito?” Vassago jeered. “Your woman’s pissed.”

The man slowly lifted his head and glared up at Vassago.

“If you stopped pissing her off, she’d stop killing you,” he said flatly.

Vassago reached down and punched him hard in the face. Once again, there was no reaction.

“You piss me off yourself, Kirito,” he said. “It makes me want to rip out your intestines again. Seeing you in one piece is like having my own personal hell.”

Kirito huffed.

“I’m already dead,” he muttered. “Why make me sit through this when I’m a dead man?”

Gabriel hummed and started to pace around in front of him.

“You’re bait, I’m afraid,” he said. “Your wife’s soul was blessed by Stacia herself. And her new little friend, Alice, has a powerful soul, too. They are two souls that I will stop at nothing to consume, don’t you see?”

Part of Kirito’s lip curled up.

“Don’t you lay a hand on Asuna,” he growled.

Vassago cackled.

“Ahhh, now we’re talking!” he said. “Now I see your fury. I knew you’d come around.”

Gabriel smiled slightly as he walked back up the steps towards his throne. No matter what, Kirito had no way of controlling what happened to himself now. His only way out of this would be if the Priestess of Light and the vessel of Stacia actually achieved their goal and freed his soul. But Gabriel wasn’t going down without a fight.

“And what do you plan to do to protect your beloved?” he asked.

Kirito remained silent.

“Outside of this realm, you have no physical form unless I grant it to you,” he said. “So shall we test a theory?”

Kirito swallowed.

“A-a theory?” he stammered.

Nodding, Gabriel turned and sat back down on his throne.

“If I release you back into the human world, I’ll give you a chance to save these two women from death at my hands,” he said.

Frowning, Kirito knit his brow.

“What’s the catch?” he said.

Chuckling, Gabriel picked up a goblet and took a long drink from it. The contents were a fiery sort of wine that only demons partook from. He swirled the drink around in his mouth, savoring the flavor for a moment while he bode his time answering. He swallowed, drew in a breath, and then pointed a finger at him.

“Your voice,” he said.

Kirito blinked.

“My voice?” he said.

Gabriel nodded.

“You’ll be leaving that with me,” he said. “You’ll have to convince the women without using words.”

Kirito huffed.

“You make it sound like that will be difficult,” he said. “Seeing me alive will be enough to deter Asuna from coming here to kill you.”

Shaking his head, Gabriel realized that the man knew so little of his predicament. He started to laugh. His shoulders shook and his voice increased in volume until the entire room echoed with his humor. He slammed the goblet down and pulled his hair back away from his face.

“One more thing you’re forgetting, little swordsman,” he said.

He snapped his fingers. Kirito started to writhe in pain in his bonds, feeling something not quite right begin to happen to his body.

“I’ll be making sure you’re still recognizable enough,” he promised. “I’m a fair man. But won’t she be even angrier when she sees what I’ve done to you?”

As Kirito opened his mouth to protest, Gabriel reached forward with his magic and wrapped its fingers around the man’s throat.

“Now. Silence.”

He grinned as the man opened his mouth to scream and had nothing come out.

“Do your best, little peasant swordsman,” he said. “But I know I’ll be taking your bride’s soul, one way or another.”


End file.
